From Books to Petrochemicals: Corvinus Students Take on the Modul Business Championship in Vienna
Three undergraduate students from Corvinus University of Budapest travelled to Vienna to compete in the finals of the Modul Business Championship (MBC) 2026. Having qualified through a strong online first round, the team tackled a complex energy transition case under pressure and came away with lasting lessons about the art of case-solving and teamwork.
Gergely Ganyecz, Nurbakyt Myrzagulov, and Veronika Léránt, three undergraduate students from Corvinus, represented the university at MBC 2026. They were guided throughout by their mentors Zoltán Stokinger, master lecturer at Corvinus, and Petra Jenei, a master’s student at Corvinus.
Preparation began in January, well ahead of the online qualifying round held in February. The team started by solving a mock 1-week case to find their footing together, before moving on to two full 24-hour case-solving sessions to sharpen their process for the final. Alongside the case practice, the preparation included dedicated workshops and exercises focused specifically on presentation skills and public speaking, an area the team would come to see as crucial by the end of the competition.
As Nurbakyt put it, MBC offered some truly interesting case topics: „I have always enjoyed case competitions for the different challenges they present, and this time it was no exception. We worked on two cases, one for the book company Libri and another for the oil company MOL, giving us an opportunity to try fundamentally different industries and problem types.”
The online qualifying round, held between February 2nd and 22nd, tasked the team with developing a solution for Libri, the Hungarian book retailer. Their performance was strong enough to earn them a place in the finals, held in Vienna between April 16th and 19th. There, the case came from MOL Austria, centred on transitioning customers away from conventional heating oil. The Corvinus team proposed a comprehensive two-phase approach: first, the introduction of HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) sales as a cleaner, drop-in substitute that would allow customers to decarbonise without immediate infrastructure changes, and second, a longer-term strategy to migrate those customers toward heat pump adoption, addressing both MOL’s commercial opportunity and the broader sustainability imperative.
Feedback from the MOL company representative during the finals suggested the team had identified the right strategic direction. Gergely recalled:
“During the grand finals, we got to hear the thoughts of the company representative from MOL. Based on what he said, it was clear that our solution was incredibly close to what the company is looking at; we only fell short in terms of our delivery and clarity.”
Despite the quality of their strategic thinking, the team did not advance to the top four. They were eliminated by teams that ultimately went on to claim the overall first and second place in the competition.
The experience prompted genuine reflection on what case-solving at this level really demands. For Gergely, Vienna clarified something important:
“It became clear to me that the solution is a very small part of the entire essence of case-solving. These competitions are just as much soft skills as they are hard, and executive communication and simplicity are still aspects I think we can improve a lot in.”
Beyond the professional lessons, the competition also left a mark on a more personal level. Gergely reflected on what the experience meant for him:
“The main takeaway from MBC for me is how powerfully case-solving can bring people together. In previous competitions, I had always worked with people I already knew well, but for Vienna, we started as near strangers and grew into a cohesive team built on both professional trust and genuine connection.”
We would like to extend our congratulations to Gergely, Nurbakyt, and Veronika for representing Corvinus with dedication and professionalism in Vienna. Our thanks also go to their mentors, Zoltán Stokinger and Petra Jenei, for the commitment they brought to the team’s preparation from January all the way through to the final. We also want to thank all Case Track instructors, jury guests at practice presentations, and CCTC seniors who supported the team along the way. The MBC experience is another chapter in the Corvinus Case Track Community’s growing international story, and one the team will carry into future competitions.